Republican Richard Hanna is a multimillionaire construction executive who is loyal to his party but who does not share the no-compromises militancy of fellow members of the GOP class of 2010. “We need to get along,” he told the Utica Observer-Dispatch in November 2012. “Compromise is not treason.” Read More

Republican Richard Hanna is a multimillionaire construction executive who is loyal to his party but who does not share the no-compromises militancy of fellow members of the GOP class of 2010. “We need to get along,” he told the Utica Observer-Dispatch in November 2012. “Compromise is not treason.”

Hanna is of Lebanese descent; he was born in Utica and graduated from high school in nearby Marcy. When his father died in 1971, the 20-year-old Hanna became the main source of income for his mother and four sisters. But he was determined to go to college and earned enough to put himself through Reed College in Portland, Ore., graduating in 1976. But his money ran out before he could get a master’s degree, so he decided to start a business. Since his father had been a carpenter, Hanna started a construction company. For five years, he lived in a barn he built and worked at whatever jobs his fledgling company could pick up. Hanna Construction eventually grew to employ more than 450 people. A licensed pilot, Hanna also volunteered with Angel Flights, a service that provides free transport to the sick and injured in need of long-distance transportation.

In May 2008, Hanna set out to run against freshman Democrat Michael Arcuri, who had won the seat 54%-45% in 2006 after veteran Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, a Republican moderate, retired. Hanna did not get much support from national Republicans, but he held Arcuri to a 52%-48% victory, even as Democrat Barack Obama carried the district. Two years later, Hanna was back for a rematch, running as a fiscal conservative opposed to government bailouts and, like Boehlert, a moderate on cultural issues. He supported abortion rights and civil unions for gay couples but dubbed the Democrats’ health care legislation “ill-conceived.”

Arcuri voted for the Democrats’ health care bill in November 2009 but against the final version in March 2010. That cost him the ballot line of the union-controlled Working Families Party, so he created his own Moderate Party to give him a second ballot line. On one issue, Hanna ran to Arcuri’s left: Arcuri opposed the building of a mosque and Islamic center near Ground Zero in Manhattan, while Hanna issued a statement supporting the developer’s right to build it, although he later said it would be “insensitive.”

Hanna’s business became an issue in the campaign. Arcuri aired an ad questioning Hanna’s commitment to restraining government spending, noting his business received $4 million in government contracts. Arcuri also noted that Hanna’s firm was cited 12 times for health and safety violations. Hanna responded that he went through proper avenues in obtaining government work, and that any company doing construction work was bound to accrue some violations. Arcuri spent $1.9 million, while Hanna spent $1.3 million, $270,000 of it his own money. Hanna won 53%-47%, carrying eight of 11 counties.

In the House, Hanna opposed moves by conservatives to drastically cut or eliminate programs such as National Public Radio. He did, however, come out strongly in favor of eliminating the Treasury Department’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and even successfully amended the bill to include details of the mortgage-assistance program’s flaws. He also collected an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association. After South Carolina GOP Rep. Jeff Duncan encouraged Remington Arms in February 2013 to relocate its plant in Hanna’s district in retaliation for New York’s strict new gun laws, Hanna responded that he would work to make sure the plant stayed “right where it began almost 200 years ago.”

Hanna has delved into women’s rights issues on the side of Democrats. In 2012, Hanna played a leading role in an unsuccessful effort to revive a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, largely pushed by Democrats. He also was the only GOP House member to appear at a March 2012 rally in support of the Equal Rights Amendment and candidly told the crowd, “Contribute your money to people who speak out on your behalf, because the other side—my side— has a lot of it.” In 2013, he joined the bipartisan “Problem Solvers” coalition led by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and former Utah GOP Gov. Jon Huntsman.

Richard Hanna Votes and Bills

National Journal’s rating system is an objective method of analyzing voting.
The liberal score means that the lawmaker’s votes were more liberal than that percentage of his colleagues’ votes.
The conservative score means his votes were more conservative than that percentage of his colleagues’ votes.
The composite score is an average of a lawmaker’s six issue-based scores.
See all NJ Voting

More Liberal

More Conservative

2013

2012

2011

Economic

50
(L) :
50 (C)

51
(L) :
48 (C)

53
(L) :
47 (C)

Social

53
(L) :
46 (C)

52
(L) :
48 (C)

56
(L) :
44 (C)

Foreign

52
(L) :
48 (C)

34
(L) :
66 (C)

49
(L) :
50 (C)

Composite

51.8
(L) : 48.2 (C)

45.8
(L) : 54.2 (C)

52.8
(L) : 47.2 (C)

Interest Group Ratings

The vote ratings by 10 special interest groups provide insight into a lawmaker’s general ideology and the degree to which he or she agrees with the group’s point of view.
Two organizations provide just one combined rating for 2011 and 2012, the two sessions of the 112th Congress. They are the ACLU and the ITIC.
About the interest groups.

The key votes show how a member of Congress voted on the major bills of the year.
N indicates a "no" vote; Y a "yes" vote. If a member voted "present" or was absent, the bill caption is not shown.
For a complete description of the bills included in key votes, see the Almanac's Guide to Usage.

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